The School of Health Professions' nationally ranked physician assistant (PA) program builds a strong foundation in
the medical sciences and offers tremendous opportunities for a wide range of clinical
rotations in medical and surgical specialties. The 33-month PA program provides
students with an opportunity to develop their analytical skills, which is particularly
important in today's health care environment where PAs are delegated increasing levels
of responsibility. Guided by a diversified faculty who are educators, clinicians, and
scientists, our students become not only technically competent but well-prepared to
deliver high-quality humanistic patient care to a diverse population.
There are two routes of entry into the PA program. In the traditional route of entry,
students apply through CASPA, which is a centralized application system. Traditional
applicants must earn a bachelor's degree prior to the start of the program. The CASPA
application opens at the end of April every year, and our deadline for complete and
verified applications is September 1.
Traditional applicants have the option to pursue a dual degree with the School of Public
Health: the master of science/master of public health (M.S./M.P.H.). Applicants who are interested in this path must apply to the PA program and the M.P.H. program separately and gain admission to both programs. The
M.P.H. program uses SOPHAS, a centralized application system. Applicants should
contact the M.P.H. program to determine if they are required to submit GRE scores. This
is a four-year program. Students who are accepted into this dual-degree track would
attend the PA program and the M.P.H. program concurrently as part-time students during
the first two years of enrollment. During the third and fourth years, these students
attend the PA program full time while they complete their clinical rotations/fieldwork
for both the M.S. and M.P.H. degrees.
The bachelor of arts or bachelor of science/master of science (B.A./M.S. or B.S./M.S.) 3+3 program is an alternate route of entry. This is not a direct
entry from high school. The first three years are spent as an undergraduate at one of our
partner schools, and the last three years are spent in graduate school in the PA program.
Students who attend one of our partner schools can apply to the 3+3 program in the
spring of their sophomore year. The Admissions Committee provides 3+3 applicants
with their decision prior to the start of the applicant's junior year. Those who are
accepted into the 3+3 program have the following contingencies: they must maintain
a minimum grade-point average of 3.2, complete all degree requirements for the undergraduate
major by the end of junior year, and complete all of the PA program's prerequisite
course requirements by the end of junior year. Interested students must apply to an
undergraduate program at one of our partner schools and then apply to the 3+3 program
in their sophomore year. Prospective applicants should refer to the program website for
the most up-to-date information regarding program partnerships.
Physician Assistant Studies and Practice 
